Value vs Price in Project Management

A decision is made. Regardless of the size of the organization and/or the scale and complexity of the project, energy is to be directed to realize its unique product, service or result. The value derived from these activities to get to the intended goal, is expected to benefit the organization. 

“Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan.”  – Katherine Tate, PHD

The project management discipline increases the likelihood of success to realize the expected benefits of your project.

Project delivery is not single threaded. Project management is designed to holistically align project activities to deliver on the intended goal; activities which include planning, communicating, collaborating, resourcing, fiscal management and monitoring, just to name a few.

Projects, like other organisms, are dynamic and fluid.   Project management principles have the flexibility to adapt and adjust based on the current state conditions while continuing progress towards the defined project goal.

Projects have benchmarks.  These benchmarks are most useful when they are specific and relevant to the project activities.  They can be used as a gauge for both delivery execution and benefit valuation.  Project management academia has yielded many benchmarks which can be utilized.

When defining and designing the project, be it small or large in scope and/or duration, it is also important is understand the what and the when of the expected project value.  The selected benefit valuation benchmarks should reflect this time dimension, as some benefits are not immediately visible.  For example, organizational cultural change impacts may not be seen as quickly as the impact of a cloud data migration. So while both projects provide business value, the organizational cultural impacts are expected to have a longer-term residual value.  Knowing how, what and when to measure should be considered when defining and designing.

From startup, small business, Global 100 and everything in between, actualizing project value with and for stakeholders is one of the key benefits of project management.

In the words of Warren Buffet:  Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.  Get your project’s value.

Kathy-Ann Edwards

Chief Project Officer

Espy and Whetstone Group, LLC